SPORT 30 THE WEEKEND NEOS KOSMOS | SATURDAY 20 JUNE 2015 DIGITAL.NEOSKOSMOS.COM ABC journalist Loukas Founten has written a comprehensive book to chronicle the first ten years of Adelaide United HELEN VELISSARIS When Adelaide United formed in 2003, it was a revelation. The sport was dying, there was no unity, and many Greek Australian fans were rightfully worried. Having built the sport from the ground up in Australia, the migrants of the 1950s and 1960s were at a loss. "There were three weeks where Adelaide City had folded, West Adelaide was gone and there was no national representation," ABC journalist Loukas Founten tells Neos Kosmos. "It was a really quick change to having this brand new A book for the fans ally new competition so I thought nobody is really writing or marking the history and commemorating the things that have happened in such a short space of time," he says. club playing its first match six weeks after the day it was announced. "It was an incredible ride." Having lived it as a fan growing up in a Greek Australian family and having worked on the sidelines as a reporter for years, it was fitting that Founten would one day chronicle his beloved club's story. He's written A Decade United: 10 Years of the Adelaide United Football Club, a book designed to paint a picture of how the A-League developed and how Adelaide United changed the sport in the state. “The A-League is a re- "So the book isn't just about Adelaide United, it talks about the changes of the whole footballing landscape, changes to the A-League, the Socceroos, the Football Federation and everything that happened that led Adelaide on its path to where it is now." Swapping over his usual broadcast voice to longform writing, it's taken Founten two years to compile, painstakingly researching and writing outside his nine-to-five job. He sought from the start to give a very honest representation of the club, and includes some things fans would like to forget. "The grand final 6-0 loss to Melbourne Victory," he admits is one of those memories. "It was just a complete shemozzle. It lives in the memories of the players, the supporters, and it's never going to leave us. "That was a real defining moment for Adelaide United where they basically said ‘never again’ and a lot of changes were made." One of the more positive notes he relished chronicling was their first official match for the inaugural 2005-2006 season. "We went from Adelaide City getting 1,500 supporters to this brand new team where we had a sellout, nearly 16,000, people were getting turned away, and this was a team that nobody knew," he says. The book ensures that those memories get the recognition they deserve and live on for future fans to discover. A Decade United is now available for general release for $45. To purchase a copy, visit www.adecadeunited.com A Decade United is out now. Emotional week for Kokkinakis Thanasi Kokkinakis rushes to Wimbledon after visiting sick grandmother Thanasi Kokkinakis' emotional Queen's Club debut has ended with a 6-4, 6-2 second-round NPL ROUND 16 FRI 12 JUN SAT 13 JUN SAT 30 JUN SAT 30 JUN SUN 31 JUN ROUND 17 FRI 19 JUN FRI 19 JUN SAT 20 JUN SAT 20 JUN SAT 20 JUN SUN 21 JUN SUN 21 JUN # TEAM 1 BENTLEIGH GREENS SC 2 HEIDELBERG UNITED FC 3 SOUTH MELBOURNE FC loss to French seventh seed Gilles Simon. Kokkinakis spent much of this OAKLEIGH CANNONS FC 4-1 MELBOURNE KNIGHTS FC AVONDALE FC 0-0 PASCOE VALE SC SAT 13 JUN NORTH GEELONG WARRIOS SC 1-0 GREEN GULLY SC SAT 13 JUN NORTHCOTE CITY FC 3-1 HUME CITY FC DANDENONG THUNDER SC 0-1 SOUTH MELBOURNE FC WERRIBEE CITY FC 1-3 BENTLEIGH GREENS SC HEIDELBERG UNITED FC 2-1 PORT MELBOURNE SHARKS SC PORT MELBOURNE SHARKS SC V AVONDALE FC BENTLEIGH GREENS SC V HEIDELBERG UNITED FC GREEN GULLY SC V DANDENONG THUNDER SC NORTHCOTE CITY FC V PASCOE VALE SC HUME CITY FC V OAKLEIGH CANNONS FC MELBOURNE KNIGHTS FC V NORTH GEELONG WARRIOS SC SOUTH MELBOURNE FC V WERRIBEE CITY FC MP W D L F A D P 16 12 4 0 33 10 23 40 16 12 3 1 33 10 23 39 16 12 3 1 33 11 22 39 4 MELBOURNE KNIGHTS FC 16 8 4 4 19 16 3 28 5 HUME CITY FC 6 PASCOE VALE SC 7 OAKLEIGH CANNONS FC 8 PORT MELBOURNE SHARKS 16 5 4 7 21 17 4 19 9 NORTHCOTE CITY FC 10 AVONDALE FC 11 GREEN GULLY SC 12 WERRIBEE CITY FC 13 DANDENONG THUNDER SC 16 3 2 11 23 42 -19 11 14 NORTH GEELONG WARRIORS 16 2 2 12 16 36 -20 8 16 6 1 9 23 37 -14 19 16 4 5 7 15 23 -8 17 16 4 2 10 22 34 -12 14 16 2 6 8 15 22 -7 12 16 6 5 5 22 17 5 23 16 7 2 7 19 20 -1 23 16 6 3 7 22 21 1 21 week in the air after making the long flight back to Australia to spend a day at home with his sick grandmother before an unscheduled return to Queen's. The highly-rated world number 70 had jetted back to Adelaide to be with his family after the French Open, only to discover on landing that he had been offered a wildcard entry into the Wimbledon warm-up event in west London. Kokkinakis got back on a plane, shrugged off the inevitable jet-lag and captured his first tour-level win on grass when he came from a set down to defeat France's Jeremy Chardy in the opening round. But the 19-year-old, one of only four teenagers in the top 100, can now take a well-earned rest and catch up on some sleep after being brushed aside by Simon. Kokkinakis was joked with reports after the match, saying he was distracted by some famous faces in the crowd - namely former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson and One Direction's Liam Payne. "I saw that and got a bit dis- Former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson was in the stands watching Kokkinakis. PHOTO: AP/KIRSTY WIGGLESWORTH. tracted actually," he joked when asked about Clarkson. "Oh, there he is from Top Gear. Again, a disappointing performance in front of him. "Was the guy from One Direction here too? I've just got to do better than that really. "I got distracted a little bit, but I looked over when I was down a set and double break. "At least I saw some important faces in the crowd!" Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic suffered swift firstround defeats in a worrying Wimbledon preview. Source: AAP/AFP Thanasi Kokkinakis in London. PHOTOL AP/KIRSTY WIGGLESWORTH.